Yellow fever vaccination required ?

cuzin GJ

May 2019 we take the Peru and Galapagos trip. some confusion as to whether yellow fever vaccination required. would appreciate feedback from recent travelers on this great adventure. thx

AlanS

cuzin GJ wrote:

May 2019 we take the Peru and Galapagos trip. some confusion as to whether yellow fever vaccination required. would appreciate feedback from recent travelers on this great adventure. thx

Regardless of what the CDC or US State Department and previous travelers say, health conditions and the policy of each country can change with little or no advanced notice or not be uniformly enforced at the border. You likely won't be successful convincing the immigration officer to let you in if you tell him the US CDC or State Department said you didn't need the shot- he'll likely respond, "But you are in my country now!" I believe there are actually specific examples of this happening in other countries in a few posts in the forum archives. You can sometimes get shots upon arrival but would you want to do that? And you certainly don't want Yellow Fever, nor do you want to be denied entry into one country and ruin your trip. Typically, you are denied entry if you haven't had the vaccine and you arrive from a country with a Yellow Fever outbreak.

There is a distinction between required and recommended but if you can find the vaccine get it and be done with it. You may need it for another Tauck trip someday. Unless you have specific health issues that prevent you from getting it, there is no other reason not to, so it is important to see a travel doctor, regardless of your decision.

Passport Health says, The CDC and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for Ecuador: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza. High risk country.

British

I have had all the shots apart from the rabies one. If you are like the crazy people on one of my tours who went out of their way to pet a stray dog who came running up to us, then I would consider that too. I have not been to Peru but have taken the Galapagos tour twice. I am constantly amazed by all the people I meet on my travels who have had few vaccines. Be aware there is a newish Shingles vaccine that is recommended to all even if you had the old one ,it's a course of two, really quite painful for a few days but otherwise fine.
Alan is correct, there have been mentions on the forum over the years of people who have had problems at borders when they have not been able to produce records of Yellow fever vaccination.

Jan511

My husband and I are going on this tour in late April/May. We just visited our travel clinic and were advised on our needed immunizations. The areas to which we will be traveling in Peru and Galápagos have no incidence of YF (not true if going into the Amazon). Although YF may be recommended by the CDC, if you are over 63, an official waiver can be granted. We did receive vaccinations for typhoid, hep A, and are up to date on our routine immunizations. We will be going to Africa in 2020, and will definitely receive YF for that trip. We were informed that there should be more YF vaccine available by summer. Also, there is no incidence of malaria in the areas we will be visiting in P/G, so malaria meds are not necessary. We learned a great deal more from the nurse at the travel clinic than we would have from our regular docs, including info on protection from insects, type of insect repellents, altitude sickness meds, use of sunscreen, etc. I hope this helps.

MarvinF

If you're going to Cuzco or Macchu Pichu, don't forget the Diamox (altitude sickness pills). Both are very high and lots of people on our Empire of the Incas tour were ill. We had a five pills to acclimate us to the heights. It was not enough because after starting in Lima (sea level), you go to Cuzco (11,000 ft), but descend to the Sacred Valley (8,000 ft), before going back to Cuzco. We needed more pills. Fortunately, someone on the tour had brought lots.

BKMD

Be aware that Diamox is not side-effect free. It should be discussed with your physician.

Some of the hotels offer (for a fee) additional oxygen piped into your room. The most important thing is staying hydrated, i.e., drink a lot of water and avoid alcohol. The locals also say coca tea is helpful (does not have any hallucinogenic effects).

Jan511

My doc won’t prescribe altitude sickness medication as I already have low blood pressure, and the medication could lower my bp too much. The travel clinic agreed. Thus the advice we received to ease acclimatizing included drinking lots of water, avoiding alcohol, taking it easy (no heavy-duty hiking), and using ibuprofen or Tylenol for any headache that may occur.

Sealord

Coca tea. Just don’t bring it home. (;-)

British

Jan511 wrote:

My husband and I are going on this tour in late April/May. We just visited our travel clinic and were advised on our needed immunizations. The areas to which we will be traveling in Peru and Galápagos have no incidence of YF (not true if going into the Amazon). Although YF may be recommended by the CDC, if you are over 63, an official waiver can be granted. We did receive vaccinations for typhoid, hep A, and are up to date on our routine immunizations. We will be going to Africa in 2020, and will definitely receive YF for that trip. We were informed that there should be more YF vaccine available by summer. Also, there is no incidence of malaria in the areas we will be visiting in P/G, so malaria meds are not necessary. We learned a great deal more from the nurse at the travel clinic than we would have from our regular docs, including info on protection from insects, type of insect repellents, altitude sickness meds, use of sunscreen, etc. I hope this helps.

The waiver you mention may not be accepted. But glad to hear you intend to get the YF vaccine. You only need it once in your life now. So my suggestion would be to get it as soon as supplies are back to normal.

taxare

I concur with British. We had quite a difficult time getting our vaccine prior to our May B,SA&Z adventure. If you can get the Stamaril vaccine near where you live, I would suggest you get it now. Once you have the vaccine and record you won't have to worry about it. There is no guarantee the manufacturing of the YF-VAX will go smoothly.